


almost is never enough

by ellegreenaways



Series: we all need someone to stay [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Implied Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Just read, Minor Mai/Zuko, One-sided Aang/Katara (Avatar), Still, Zutara, fuck it, i don’t know how to tag, im stupid, its implied katara and zuko have feelings for each other, it’s been 5 years but, kind of one sided maiko, nothing bad but i just want to make it clear so i don’t get hate comments, okay, this is not a kataang friendly fanfic, with a not happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29886081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellegreenaways/pseuds/ellegreenaways
Summary: where zuko and katara actually have a conversation about what happened during the agni kaiand some unwanted feelings are confronted...kind of
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: we all need someone to stay [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2200689
Kudos: 27





	almost is never enough

**Author's Note:**

> the title is from ariana grande’s song, because i have labeled it a zutara song. also i think it goes with the plot of my story.

Katara found him standing near the window of his bedroom, which overlooked the palace grounds. Half his robe was fixed over his shoulder, the other half dangling behind his back as if he'd given up trying to finish getting changed. Though he wasn't facing her. she could still see the white bandages that wrapped around his entire abdomen–a cruel reminder of what had conspired there less than a day before.

"You spent a few hours in the palace and forgot how to dress yourself already?" She asked playfully, stepping through the doorway. He turned abruptly, surprised by her voice.

A small smile crept on his face, acknowledging that he knew she was joking. Mere weeks ago he might have taken it personally or lost his temper, but things had changed drastically between them. In fact, he was certain that she was the person he trusted most.

"Very funny, Katara," he said, rolling his eyes. He reached for the other sleeve as she approached him, wincing slightly. The pain of getting hit with Azula's lightning was still very much apparent, and as much as he tried to push through, sometimes it wasn't enough.

"Do you need help?"

He nodded, turning back around so she could assist him.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Katara let out a sigh. "You got hit by lightning less than a day ago, Zuko. You saying that is more concerning than you telling me you're _not_ fine. You don't have to put up a wall, or pretend that you're not in pain. No one else is here, it's just me."

"I know," he said. "And I'm okay. I'm not pretending."

She finished helping him into his other sleeve, and moved so they were facing each other. "Don't lie to me, Zuko. I saw you wincing before. How bad is it?"

"On a scale of one to getting my face burnt by my own father? Falls quite squarely in the middle there."

She frowned. He'd never told them the story of how he got his scar. Whenever someone had tried to bring it up, he'd always avoid the question. From what she knew it had always been an accident, but this revelation told a completely different story. Of course, it was probably a traumatic memory, something he didn't like to talk about. Katara didn't blame him, but it shocked her with how much ease he'd spilled that information to her.

Zuko must have picked up on her concern, because let out a small laugh. Something that sounded foreign coming from his mouth. She’d never heard him laugh before. "It was a joke, Katara. It's okay, really."

"Promise? I don't want to have to be summoned here after your coronation because one of your guards found you passed out in the hallway because you were too stubborn to get it checked out."

"I promise. You don't have to worry about me."

She was silent, watching as he continued getting ready. Memories of the night before flooding her mind. She remembered watching as orange fire fought blue. She remembered running towards Zuko as he taunted his sister with lightning. She remembered seeing the lightning move swiftly around Azula’s body, and Zuko standing, ready to redirect it. And then she remembered the split second of eye contact she shared with the girl, before her entire world came crumbling down. In that moment she was sure she was going to die, but the sound of him shouting her name before he dove in front of her echoed through her mind.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out.

Zuko turned to face her. “Sorry? For what?”

She bit her lip, and averted her eyes to the floor, refusing to look at him in fear that she might just break. “I got you hit with her lightning. You wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I had just stayed put and hadn’t run into the area. It’s my fault that you almost...” She couldn’t finish her sentence. “It’s my fault that you almost died.”

He stepped closer to her, gently lifting her chin so they were looking at each other. “Katara, none of this is your fault. Azula would have found another way to get a cheap shot in, that’s just the way she is. I took that bolt of lightning because I wanted to. I don’t blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself either. It was my choice. I made the choice to save you.”

“But–”

“Katara! Look at me.” His voice snapped her out of her trance. She met his golden eyes again, though she could feel tears trying to surface.

“You saved my life, okay? You’re the reason I get to stand here today. And even if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing about what happened.”

“Even though you got hurt?”

He nodded. “Even though. I wouldn’t trust anyone to have my back the way I trust you. You should know that.”

She smiled. “If you’d told me a few months ago that you’d be one of my closest...” Katara’s voice faltered. She wasn’t sure what she could even consider him as. Just a friend didn’t seem to cut it anymore. They’d been through so much together in just such a short time, shared things they’d never told anyone else about. Friend wasn’t enough to describe the bond they had. “If you told me a few months ago that you’d have saved my life, I wouldn’t have believed it. But, I stand corrected. You’re a good guy, Zuko, and I’m sorry for everything I put you through.”

“I deserved it,” He said. “I was a dick, and I broke your trust. You had every right not to like me after everything I did to all of you.”

They were quiet for a moment as they stood just inches from each other, face to face. A light breeze came from the window, sending slight chills down Katara’s back.

“Did you meant it?” He asked suddenly.

“Mean what?”

“When you offered to heal my scar back in the crystal catacombs. Did you mean it?”

“Oh,” she said, surprised by the question. “I did. I mean, I would have. If I still had the spirit water the offer would still stand, but I used it on Aang after...after Azula hit him.”

“How is he?”

“Good, I guess. As good as anyone can be after what happened. He didn’t have to kill anyone, so...”

“He likes you, you know.”

“I know,” she said, breaking away from his gaze, creating a space between them that hadn’t previously been there. The memory of Aang kissing her, twice, replaying in her mind. She wished that she could like it the way that he did for his sake, but she couldn’t. She didn’t. She knew that, everyone knew that. It was clear to everyone except Aang. She swallowed. “I know.”

“Do you...” Though she couldn’t see him, she could see his facial expressions in his head as he tried to calculate the best way to phrase the question.

“This isn’t really about what I want,” she said softly, as she turned back around to face him. “Is it?”

“Love shouldn’t feel like an obligation,” he said, taking a step toward her, closing the gap she’d made. “My mother...well I just mean...it takes two to make a relationship work. You deserve to be happy, Katara. Not forced to settle for someone you don’t share feelings for because you feel obligated to.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Katara spotted Mai standing at the doorway, watching them. She leaned against the opening, arms folded across her chest. Though she couldn’t see her face, Katara could almost feel the heat of the glare she was sending her way.

“An obligation...right. Well I–I probably should go,” She said. She placed a hand on his shoulder in a last minute gesture of reassurance. “Be safe, okay? I– _we_ need you.”

He nodded. “I will be, I promise.”

As she dropped her hand, it brushed along his arm, and for a moment their hands touched. She looked up, meeting his eyes and gave him a smile, but it seemed almost sad. Like she was saying goodbye. “I’ll see you.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you...”

He watched as she walked towards the door, giving a small nod of acknowledgment to Mai, who had begun to walk in his direction.

“What was she doing here?”

His eyes lingered in Katara’s direction until she disappeared out of sight. “She was just...making sure that, uh, my burn was healing okay.”

“Is it?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you?”

He sighed, forcing a smile upon his face. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

**Author's Note:**

> i don’t really know what this is. it was kind of spur of the moment, so i might go back and edit any mistakes later. it might be a little ooc, but i hope it’s too too drastic. i just really wish they’d talked about what happened. 
> 
> also it’s canon compliant, so heavily implied that zuko/mai and katara/aang end up together. i left it open ended but that was the intention because i live for the angst :). but if you wanna take it another direction feel free. 
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoyed lol


End file.
